Like most such facile categorizing, 'child prodigy' usually ends up being a dead end rather than a means to explore the subject at hand. In the case of Joey Alexander, it's a disservice precisely because it's so restrictive: if he proves anything on his second album, it is that he will not be confined. Quite the contrary, the thirteen year-old pianist and composer challenges himself on multiple fronts on Countdown. He not only chooses to play with other musicians, including bassist Larry Grenadier (Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau) and saxophonist Chris Potter (Dave Douglas, Dave Holland), thereby allowing himself to assimilate technique, but he also takes the risk of involving both of them on an extended foray into Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage;" their detailed exploration of both the melody and rhythm reveals why it's so durable a composition and why the threesome are so simpatico. The choice of the famous tune also represents the courage Alexander displays in his selection of cover material juxtaposed with his own evocative originals like "Soul Dreamer." John Coltrane's "Countdown" is a somewhat lesser known piece of the late great hornman's (his "My Favorite Things" served as the title of this artist's debut), while, in contrast, "Criss Cross" is one of pianist/composer Thelonious Monk's most famous tunes. Alexander and company approach both numbers with relish and no small amount of abandon. In fact, the musicians leave self-consciousness so far behind, for a deep engag